Read More

Levels of outrage at the Muirfield vote have been high with First Minister Sturgeon tweeting: “Scotland has women leaders in every walk of life. It is 2016. This is simply indefensible.”

She added: "We live in a country where women inhabit the offices of First Minister, the leaders of opposition parties, where we have a woman Lord Justice Clerk, one of our most senior judges (Lady Dorrian), a woman law officer (Solicitor General Lesley Thomson) and women lead businesses the length and breadth of this country.

"The majority of members actually voted in favour of admitting women, which is encouraging, but I sincerely hope those who didn't now reconsider and that the club as a whole revisits the issue."

Read More

Martin Slumbers, chief executive of The R&A, said: "The Open is one of the world's great sporting events and, going forward, we will not stage the Championship at a venue that does not admit women as members.

"Given the schedule for staging The Open, it would be some years before Muirfield would have been considered to host the Championship again."

Muirfield club captain Henry Fairweather announced the results of the members ballot at the clubhouse in Gullane on Thursday.